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App puts the history of life on Earth in your palm

Posted: Sep 20, 2010 | 2 min 20 sec

A new iPhone TimeTree app allows anyone to explore the history of life on Earth in the palm of their hand. The software is the latest extension of a project conceived by Sudhir Kumar, director of the Biodesign Institute’s Center for Evolutionary Medicine and Informatics at Arizona State University and Blair Hedges, professor of biology at Penn State University.

The TimeTree app harnesses a vast Internet storehouse of data on life forms ranging from fungi to foxhounds and the intuitive interface is designed to answer a simple question, quickly and authoritatively: when did species A and species B share a common ancestor?